Aiming stake holder



Sept 17, 1957 L. F. RONGAUS ETAL AIMING STAKE HOLDER Filed Aug. 25, 1955 I I I I I* 22 ai .2 LEoN EEoNAuJ E? EUeENEEEa/VGA as 7715/@ A rroeue'r IN V EN TORS.

United States Patent O AIMING STAKE HOLDER Leon F. Rongaus and Eugene E. Rongaus, Donora, Pa.

Application August 25, 1955, Serial No. 530,536

3 Claims. (Cl. 143-74) This invention relates generally to stake holders and more particularly to a stake holder for an artillery aiming or sighting stake holder.

Artillery aiming or sighting stakes are usually iron rods shoved into the ground several rods in front of the gun emplacement. This stake is then used as a reference point in firing. This stake is frequently set under difficulties including under fire, uneven or exposed terrain, or rough and rocky ground that will not take stake. Any one and sometimes all of these conditions prevail.

The present invention provides a relatively heavy base which can be slid along the ground and contains pointed stakes for feet to hold the sighting stake, a laterally adjustable member on which is mounted a swiveled socket. The device is stored as a unit and may be quickly installed with a good degree of safety, and would not be subjected to windstorms or concussion.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplication, without limiting the invention or claims thereto, certain practical embodiments illustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

Fig. l in side view in side elevation with parts being in section.

Fig. 2 is a view in end elevation of the structure shown in Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing, the base 1 is of heavy metal and is provided with the three carrier sockets 2 for receiving the pointed feet 3 when not in use. When in use as shown these spikes are threadably engaged in sockets in the underside of the base in properly arranged threaded sockets arranged in triangle relation.

The base 1 is also provided with a centrally disposed aperture 4 large enough to receive the sighting stake 5 if the superstructure is removed because of injury or is otherwise destroyed. The hole 4 may be equipped with a center indicator in the form of the spring pressed pointed tool 6 which when released by the pivoted trigger 7 is caused to penetrate into the ground under the force of the spring 8 by pulling out the firing pin 9 from under a shoulder on the trigger 7. The pointed tool makes a deep impression in the ground and thus marks the center of the sighting rod if the device has been moved.

On the deck of the base is mounted a bridge 10 which has abutments at each end secured to the deck by the mounting screws. A way 11 is formed on the top side of the bridge. This way is in the form of -a semicircular bore open at the top to form the opposed guide faces -to receive the carriage 12. The carriage hasva sliding fit in the way. The faces 13 on the carriage lit the guide faces of the way and thus guide the carriage. The underside of the carriage is provided with the rack 14 which meshes with the pinion 15 on the shaft 16, the outer end of which is provided with the hand device such as the wheel 17. A shoulder 18 on the shaft 16 abuts a mating shoulder in the transverse bore 19 of the bridge. The shaft 16 protrudes through the bridge to receive the pin 20 that holds the same assembled in the bore 19. Thus the single pin holds the shaft in place and the pinion holds the carriage in place.

The deck of the base 1 is provided with a clip 21 to receive the long tubular socket 22 for holding the staif, sighting rod or aiming stake 5. Thus each of -the feet 2,806,289 Patented Sept. 17, 1957 ICC 3 and the aiming stake holder 22 are neatly stored in the base when not in use.

An outwardly open socket 23 is secured to the top center of the carriage 12. This socket has the coil spring 24 seated in the bottom to press upwardly against the ball 25 to give it resistance to swinging, turning, or swiveling. The ball 25 has the upwardly projecting stem 26 made integral therewith. The outer end of the stem is threaded at 27 to receive lthe aiming stake holder -base 28. The ball cap 30 has the opening 31 through which stem 26 extends with room to swing. This cap is threadably engaged on the socket 23 and has an internal spherical sector that engages the upper face of the ball 25 to complete Ithe socket. This spherical surface resists the force expended on the ball 25 by the spring 24. This force is suicient to permit the ball to carry the socket 22 and the rod or stake therein to be moved laterally within the bounds between the stem 26 and the opening 31 in the cap 30 and the 'ball will hold its adjusted position by reason of this spring pressure on the ball. A shield 32 is mounted on the stem 26 to close over the hole 31 regardless of the position of the stem. A rubber stop 33 slides tightly on the stem 26 to hold the shield in place. The stem 26 also carries the leveling bubbles 34 and 35 which are disposed at right angles to each other and when both are set to the level the sighting rod 5 positioned in the socket 22 is vertical.

The use of a single rack and carriage permits the rod to be adjusted transversely of the gun emplacement. If the party setting the stake has communication with the gunner, then a slight lateral adjustment of the vertically disposed stake may -be made without disturbing the base. In this manner the gun may be more readily sighted on the stake.

We claim:

1. An artillery aiming stake holder comprising a base, a way mounted on the base and in the lform of a rigid member having a bore open along one side to provide opposed guide faces, a carriage of substantially the same cross section as the bore and the opening along its one side, said carriage slidably mounted in said way and having faces engaging said guide faces, a toothed rack on one side of said carriage, a bore disposed transversely of said way and opening thereinto, a shaft journaled in said transverse bore, a pinion on said shaft and meshed with said rack, a hand device on said shaft to rotate the pinion and move said carriage `in said way, a socket member on said way, a stem having a ball member frictionally engaged in said socket to hold said stem in a predetermined position relative to said carriage, and an aiming stake holder mounted on said stern to receive and carry the aiming stake when the carriage is moved along said base by said hand device.

2. The structure of claim 1 which also includes leveling means on said stem to position said aiming stake holder vertical.

3. The structure of claim 1 which also includes removable feet on said base, and sockets in said base disposed normally to the horizontal parallel planes passing through the axes of said bores to receive said feet to support said base.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 209,562 Gurley Nov. 5, 1878 394,680 Dawes Dec. 18, 1888 470,802 Hannes Mar. 15, 1892 839,541 Berger Dec. 25, 1906 2,245,901 Chaskin June 17, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 102,863 France Apr. 16, 1874 

